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If one equates silence with death, as Goedicke does in her lecture Sounds and Silences, then it is interesting that the image of a newborn appears in a poem largely defined by silences.  Of course, Goedicke's rendering of birth is an image of loss; the newborn as an exile, one who has been expelled from home (i.e., the womb).  Initially, Goedicke seeks to sharpen the imagery related to this initial suffering, but  by the final draft the image is ultimately dropped.

In the 2006 draft below, please notice that the stanza appearing at the bottom of page one begins the pages from the September 10, 2002 and November 17, 2002 drafts.

September 10, 2002 draft

November 17, 2002 draft

2006 draft from The Baseball Field at Night manuscript